"Families grow up and they have no choice but to move away from their neighborhood because there's no place for them to live. For families that chose not to be homeowners or can't afford to be homeowners, they should have a nice place to live."

Although contruction, started in May 2002, won't be completed until late February, the complex opened Oct. 20, and 95 of the 160 units are occupied.

The Birchfield Development Co. of Houston co-developed the project with MAUC in San Antonio.

MAUC currently owns 51 percent of the project. In 15 years, the council will hold total ownership of the complex. Currently, MAUC and Birchfield share the liabilities, benefits and cash flow from the project.

The new complex is the first tax-credit project for MAUC.

The Internal Revenue Service administers Section 42 tax credits through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

"These are not charity apartments," said Craig Nelson, a partner in Birchfield. "These are apartments for people who are working, that have certain means, that are very, very prideful and take care of their properties."

With tax-credit apartments, residents don't have to sacrifice large portions of their paycheck to pay the rent. Teran noted that rent never exceeds 30 percent of a tenant's income.

"What we hope to do is provide a place for them to live at an affordable rent and provide discretionary income to the household for other things like education," she said.

Teran plans to offer homebuyer education classes at the complex for her tenants.

One-, two-, three-and four-bedroom apartments are available to tenants. Every apartment has a washer and dryer connection. There is one garage for every tenant. A community room and swimming pool also are in the works.

There are plans to organize a complex neighborhood association in the future, said Manager Clara Hernandez.

Rene Medellin moved into his apartment facing South Hamilton Street on Nov. 21.

"If you were to go upstairs and look out the window, it looks like the North Side," Medellin said.

He and his roommates admit the complex is not perfect. They have seen some problems with upkeep. But most people, they say, stay to themselves.

And then there is the price. With the tax credit, Medellin and his roommates pay a total of $480 a month for a two-bedroom apartment with two and a half bathrooms.

Nelson of Birchfield Development Co. said that his company's other, similar tax-credit projects maintain a 92 percent occupancy rate.

Before applying to the state for tax-credit status, MAUC organized informational meetings for the nearby Brady Gardens and Prospect Hill communities.

Oscar San Miguel is president of the Brady Gardens Neighborhood Association and attended one of the meetings. Although supportive of the project, he expressed some initial reservations about construction and the close proximity of the railroad tracks that slice across South Hamilton Street.

"My concerns dealt specifically with the density of the project, and I felt that their rent schedule was not reflective of prevailing rents in our neighborhoods and surrounding inner city West Side area of town," he said.

But the project design and construction quality eventually convinced San Miguel to support the project. He was one of four community members who spoke in support of the project at the initial Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs public hearing when MAUC first submitted its tax-credit application.

Teran also reported that MAUC received a letter of support from San Antonio School District officials for the project. The complex sits a few steps from SASD's Brewer Elementary School at 906 Merida St.

"I think it's going to be a very positive development, it's going to be landscaped, it's going to be maintained," Teran said.

"It's going to be a beautiful complex, in that it adds something to the neighborhood," she added.

vdavila@express-news.net